Hatchery

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations for a private equity firm that invests in healthcare companies. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Hatchery?

In 2020, we decided to increase our presence on the web and on sites like LinkedIn. As a result, we mapped out a slow-building marketing plan, and a big part of that plan involved a refresh of our website. For context, we last updated our site in 2015, and it took nearly a year to finish; we worked on it for months and months, and it was expensive.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hatchery helped us develop a website that allowed me to make changes easily as we invested in new companies and sold others. We had our entire portfolio listed on it, so we had to move things in and out based on our investment needs. With our old website, I was paying someone a pretty expensive hourly rate to do simple things. This time around, I needed Hatchery to develop one that could be updated easily. 

Apart from that, Hatchery also served as an accessible team that I could communicate with for SSL certificates and other security aspects. Our site wasn’t complex; it wasn’t like we did any e-commerce transactions. However, I was also focused on security, so I needed them to answer my questions when handling lower-level tasks on my own. 

At present, we continue working with Hatchery as needed for their maintenance services. 

What is the team composition?

I work directly with two people from Hatchery. They’ve also brought in a third-party designer. Specifically, we work with Marcus (President) and Jake (VP of Marketing & E-Commerce). Jake manages the project. 

How did you come to work with Hatchery?

I knew the graphic designer that Hatchery brought in, and I found them through him. In fact, we’ve known each other for about 20 years, and I’ve used him as a graphic designer in different capacities. When I started thinking about this website redesign project, I talked to him about it. He specifically recommended Hatchery and Marcus. Unfortunately, our initial search efforts were stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, we were able to work on the project with Hatchery after interviewing many firms. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around or above $10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off our engagement in March 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

For context, we interviewed firms and chose Hatchery at the end of 2020. However, we conducted our annual meeting and had to put other things to higher priority, so we didn’t start the engagement until 2021. 

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

In terms of the overall look and functionality of the website, Hatchery has exceeded every one of our expectations. Our team couldn’t be happier with the results we’ve achieved. We’re also incredibly impressed with the value that we’ve gained out of the money we’ve spent. 

How did Hatchery perform from a project management standpoint?

Hatchery has done an incredible job of mapping out a project timeline and holding our company to it. I’ve worked closely with one of our managing partners, and with Hatchery’s help, we’ve worked hard to step up to the project. We’ve had a couple of issues, and our team has changed some things at the last minute, but we’ve hit our target deadline. Overall, we’re impressed and proud of the fact that we’ve stayed on such a tight timeline and made it work. 

Meanwhile, we don’t interact in person because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that, much of our communications are done via email. We also use video calls via either Teams or Zoom meetings. Overall, their team is so responsive that they can pivot things based on what we want on the fly. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Hatchery team is extraordinarily trustworthy; they’re knowledgeable and great at what they do; they’re clear about who they are and what they can and can’t do. For instance, even though they’re great at web development and production, they still need someone to help them with graphic design. As a result, they’ve brought in a third-party designer. 

On top of that, they’re great at laying out clear plans and setting up expectations. They bring in the resources they need, and they follow through; they do what they say they’ll do. Moreover, their members are truly honest, so we get a lot of value for our money. They don’t waste everybody’s time by charging unnecessary expenses. Simply put, they deliver great products for great value. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear vision of what you want — that’s what we’ve done, and it’s the best approach based on our experience. A lot of time can be wasted around brainstorming, which can be a highly subjective process. With that in mind, our managing partner and I have had a clear and exact idea of what we like and dislike; we have a clear direction about the things we want to change and retain within the existing website. As a result, we and Hatchery have successfully streamlined the process upfront. Simply put, be clear and thoughtful of your goals. This will set you up for success. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Vertical Consultants. We are a telecom consulting firm that works with property owners throughout the US in negotiating cell tower and rooftop agreements.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hatchery?

We had two purposes for hiring Hatchery:

1. We needed them to help us with our marketing campaign. We wanted to gain more exposure through hard-selling and online channels. 
2. We needed help with our SEO and PPC as well as with revamping and restructuring our website for informational, aesthetic, and marketing purposes.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hatchery provided a wide range of services for us that included SEO, PPC, web design, and digital marketing. The team was instrumental in helping us produce and edit new content that could optimize our site as well as attract new clients. 

What is the team composition?

We mostly worked with Marcus (President) and three other people from Hatchery.

How did you come to work with Hatchery?

We had been working with a firm prior to this engagement when we decided to step our SEO and marketing up a little bit. We reached out to Nashville-based firms as well as to regional and national agencies. 

We thought Hatchery was the best fit for us not just because of the services they provided, but also because of their willingness to address our concerns and focus on us.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay a monthly retainer under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around Q1 2016. Our engagement is ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve been very pleased with Hatchery’s ability to hit the milestones that we’ve put in place. They’ve been able to maintain that over the years as well as implement any idea that we bring to the table. 

We feel that we’ve gotten a good ROI from our engagement with Hatchery; we’ve seen an increase in the number of new clients that reach out to us, and the leads we’ve gotten are people who’re actually a good fit for the services we provide.

How did Hatchery perform from a project management standpoint?

Hatchery is good at keeping us up to date on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. The team also helps us be more organized in terms of managing our marketing internally. 

We do a lot of communication through email and speak regularly over the phone. We’re fortunate to be able to meet in person several times a year. In those instances, we sit down and talk about bigger items and goals within the project as opposed to simply emailing each other or holding a conference over Zoom. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hatchery has been very hands-on and focused on their part. Over the course of five years, we’ve never had an issue with the team’s response time. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

One thing I could suggest for their business is to try to stay a step ahead of the curve rather than just keeping up with everything. They could benefit from figuring out what’s going to happen before it does rather than simply dealing with an issue when it’s already there. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anybody who's looking to work with Hatchery should go in with an understanding of who the agency is, what they do, and what results they can get for you. Communicate what you're looking for and listen to what they can provide to see if there’s a good match between your companies.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Corporate Director of Marketing. Our company owns multiple college trade schools throughout the country and our goal is to help students get the skills they need to start a career quickly and cost-effectively.

For what projects/services did your company hire Hatchery, and what were your goals?

Their role is to obtain PPC leads that convert to enrollments for all our programs at a cost in line with our goals.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

They were recommended by an associate after remarkable results at their company. We experienced similar results.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Analyze and reconfigure our PPC campaigns and improve SEO.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Marcus and Jake (both partners in the business), and additional staff worked with us to achieve our unbelievable results. All of my interaction has been direct with them. This results in a relevant product since they are doing the work and not relaying my ideas to another party.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

I'm very impressed and pleased. For SEO, our search results for programs now always appear with improved rankings (we are usually #1). For PPC, our leads are coming in at a fifth of the cost of a previous vendor and are converting at twice the rate of the previous vendor.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Email, weekly reporting, and phone calls are working well. I am impressed by the timeliness of returned calls. If they do not return my call immediately, I generally get an email that says they are on a conference call and can return my call at xx.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We're most impressed with their level of commitment and dedication to our purpose. I believe they have a true understanding of our educational programs which is apparent in their work. Jake and Marcus's writing skills exceeded our expectations and we rely on them for improved communication.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No, because of their flexibility.  We work as a team to identify areas in need of improvement, create a plan and execute it.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a brick-and-mortar clothing company founded in 1998.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hatchery?

As we were a brick-and-mortar business, we took pride in our customer service. However, we had to change how we interacted with the world because of COVID-19. We had a website, but it wasn’t functional, so we hired Hatchery to help us improve it and implement some digital marketing strategies.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hatchery set up our email and Google Ads campaigns to help us get noticed in a pandemic world. They also redesigned our website and helped us fed it with content. Additionally, they’ve provided us with a lot of consulting on digital marketing strategies.

Someone in a different country had hacked our website, so Hatchery helped us solve that problem and arrange its content to make it more functional. They also uploaded all of our merchandise and created different categories for it.

What is the team composition?

I work with two people from Hatchery: Marcus (President & Co-Owner) and Jake (VP of Digital Strategy & E-Commerce).

How did you come to work with Hatchery?

Hatchery is local to us, and I had heard of them through another friend of mine. They had worked with several other local businesses in our area, and we saw their success, so we decided to call them.

I believe that it works best when small businesses support smaller businesses. As we couldn’t afford a huge advertising agency, especially during the pandemic, we thought that the support from a local company would help us be more cost-effective.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together at the beginning of 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

One thing is sending emails, another one is converting them into clicks, and the most challenging one is converting those clicks into purchases. Thanks to Hatchery’s help in reorganizing our site and implementing marketing strategies and email campaigns, we’ve converted emails into purchases.

Additionally, when investing with a company, the clients’ final goal is to increase their ROI. I can say that Hatchery has helped me achieve that goal and create what I wanted, which is huge.

How did Hatchery perform from a project management standpoint?

Most of our communication is over the phone, Zoom, or email. I can also text them because they’re very flexible in their communication. They’re also very responsive, and they’ve managed the project very well.

They clearly communicated the timelines and the information from the beginning, and they’ve always informed me about any issues or hiccups.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hatchery’s customer service is top-notch. When clients aren’t paying very much for other companies’ services, they might feel like they’re at the bottom of the barrel. However, that doesn’t occur with Hatchery. They make every client feel important, no matter how big or small.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve had a remarkable experience working with Hatchery, so I don’t have any constructive feedback. They came recommended to me, and now I’m highly recommending them to others.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront and try to communicate your needs clearly. Lay it all out, be direct and open to feedback, and trust them. They’re the experts.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a brand new yoga studio that recently opened in Franklin, Tennessee.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hatchery Digital Marketing?

I needed a website so people could find me.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hatchery designed and developed my website from scratch. They also SEO-optimized it and gave me some guidance on Google Ads. Additionally, they offered to review my Google Analytics, and they did a comprehensive analysis of my site that included suggestions.

We’re still working on the SEO. They’re not managing my Google Ads account yet, but I might hire them to do that as well.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked a lot with Marcus (President). He has given me a lot of feedback on SEO and the general optimization of the site. Additionally, Jake (VP of Marketing Strategy & E-Commerce) is in charge of the Google Analytics and Google Ads side.

How did you come to work with Hatchery Digital Marketing?

A couple of yoga teachers and studios in the area have used Hatchery before. When we ask people in our industry how they started, their recommendations are usually good.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

As I have a brand new studio, the analytics are a challenge because I don’t have a previous benchmark to compare them to. However, we’ve had a large number of people come to the studio because they found us on Google. Additionally, I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback on my site’s design; it loads quickly and is simple, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly.

Now, we’re figuring out how much to spend on Google Ads. I can leverage being in an area where there aren’t many studios yet to come on top of Google searches.

How did Hatchery Digital Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via Zoom meetings, phone calls, and emails. Hatchery also uses Loom, where they can video record answers to my questions so that I can watch them later. It is a really helpful tool because they walk me through all the steps, and I can access the videos at any time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hatchery’s communication and responsiveness are excellent. They understand my needs and deliver things that meet my expectations. They’ve also helped me understand when something that I ask for might not even be necessary for my particular website.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. My site is still fairly new, but everything is working great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s extremely important to be very clear, organized, and able to communicate what you need. The more specific you are, the more likely Hatchery can understand and deliver results.